Grimes Defends Selena Gomez Against High‑School‑Level Online Bullying, Calls It Disturbing

Grimes publicly defended Selena Gomez and took aim at the culture that amplifies cruel commentary about women’s appearances after a post on X circulated that mocked stills from Gomez’s “In the Dark” video.

The viral thread included screenshots that framed a few unflattering frames as representative of Gomez’s appearance. Grimes responded on X on Oct. 25, arguing the clips misrepresent Gomez and questioning the human cost of such viral mockery.

“When people clip a few strange shots and present that as the whole, it’s a cruel distortion. She’s strikingly beautiful — one of the most beautiful, in my view. Think about how it feels to be discussed like this and the mental resilience it must take to continue,” Grimes wrote, calling out those who profit from the outrage at the expense of others’ mental health.

She pressed further on the broader harm: how these attacks affect young people’s perceptions of women and the shrinking space for older women in entertainment. Grimes framed the behavior as juvenile and unacceptable, saying the trend resembles persistent high-school–level bullying rather than responsible public discourse.

Grimes also proposed stricter moderation for accounts that systematically target people’s bodies, suggesting platforms should consider suspensions for repeat offenders who normalize mass body-shaming.

She characterized the normalization of such behavior as corrosive to culture: not only damaging to the subject and the original poster, but to every person who consumes and validates that level of dehumanization.

The backlash and scrutiny of women’s appearances online are longstanding problems, and Grimes has been vocal before. In July she described X as toxic to public conversation — a view informed in part by her own difficult experiences with social platforms.

Grimes’ remarks coincided with activity around her own music: she recently released the single “Artificial Angels,” which she has described as the first of more new music to come. In posts accompanying the release, Grimes also mentioned a new facial tattoo — a faded red ring near her left eye — which she said few people initially noticed.

Grimes’ defense underscores ongoing debates about platform responsibility, the ethics of viral content, and the real psychological impact that online ridicule can inflict on public figures and private individuals alike.

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